Pressed Metal, The Not Quite Tutorial

Remember these box/shelf thingy's?

My Wedding Expo display

I thought they looked great at the wedding expo. Black and white, bold, simple. Mr Frog/Mr I-Always-Have-A -Bloody-Opinion thought they looked too modern. "Your style is "Vintage"" he said.
Damn.
He's right.
Although it did look great, something a little more vintage would look even better.
But what? For awhile, I was thinking black and white damask scrapbooking paper. Easy Peasy.
But then I remembered something I saw on Bloody Pinterest.
Pressed Metal.
I adore pressed metal. I dream of having a Silver Pressed Metal splash back in my kitchen.
I didn't actually go to the original source. It seemed pretty simple. And it was.

Simple, yet I think, incredibly effective.

First, cut your cardboard to size. I used a random piece of cardboard and stole the giant box of un-opened Cornflakes. (Remember, Already had = Free)

Then I marked out my pattern. You know me, I kept it simple. This is a little less fancy than I imagine in my dream kitchen.

I then went to town with the hot glue. If you're doing this with kids, you could probably use P.V.A glue, it'll just take longer to dry. So scratch that, and just let the kids design while you take command of the glue gun. (There's gotta be some perks to being the grown up).
Be careful not to make the glue to high/thick. It'll tear the foil.

Next, lay the foil shiny side down and put your cardboard glue side down. Fold over the edge of the foil, carefully, and tape down.

 Flip it over and gently rub your hands over the foil.

 Then go over again with more attention to detail.

 Now remember when I said gently and try not to make the glue too thick...? This is why. The foil won't like it. And neither will you.

 Nevermind. Pretend it didn't happen and continue with the next two pieces.

 It's about this time I heard a little voice in my head saying " It doesn't look as good as you thought huh?".
Doubting bitch. I Ignored her and carried on.

It looked promising. I had such high hopes.

Hmm. Not quite how I imagined. I stared for a bit. Maybe it'll look better with a bag in there?

 Maybe up close?

Hmmmm.
Maybe with the black bags instead. Yes, that's it.

 I couldn't work out why it didn't look like I thought it would. The first piece I did was awesome. I even posted it on Facebook. (So it must be true).
Then Mr Frog chimed in.
In his "I'm trying not to sound like the critical pain in the arse you think I am" voice, he said "Do you like it babe?". I paused for a second too long and he continued with "It just looks like foil".

GAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

He is a critical pain in the arse, but when he's right, he's right.

Now it just looks like a conspiracy theorist has gotten a little fancy with the foil on the windows.

Sometimes, things don't work out the way you think/hope/wildly assume they will. And part of the "fun" of being a crafty minx is working out how to fix things when they don't quite work out fail completely.

I went back to plan B. well, plan A really.
And I got to go to Kaisercraft. So, that's a win.

 A black damask acetate (After Five Collection,  Champagne), on white paper.

Simple, black and white, bold, Vintage.

And I didn't swear once.

What have you stuffed up and then fixed lately?

MC

Here Comes the Bride

Don't panic. Mr frog and I are not getting married for the fourth time.

I'm doing this:

My first Wedding Fair.

Since making a beautiful bag for my sisters wedding a few years ago (including bags for me and her other bridesmaid), I've been meaning to get into the Wedding Biz.

It's just that, well...

I'm a chicken. A big fat one.

It seems the fear of failure is WAY stronger than not only common sense, but optimism too.

But then Bailey from The Vintage Press made me an incredibly generous offer that I just couldn't refuse. I couldn't say no to an offer of support from someone whose market table makes me drool, could I?

No.

So. I've been preparing like a maniac.

The early stages, cutting out fabric.

Machine sewing...

...and some hand sewing.

Apparently posing for pictures while working is very serious business. Also, I admit I seriously considered putting make up on and changing my clothes to take these pictures. That just seemed like too much work.

Anyhoo, I've made a collection of Bridal bags for the big day. I mean, my big day. And maybe yours.

Ivory silk lined in blue satin (for your "something blue")

For the retro/natural bride.

Inspired by my original wedding dress, Broderie Anglaise over pink satin.

Simple; white satin and some gold bling.

Inspired by Vera Wang, Pink chiffon over white satin.

Sexy bridesmaids.

"Something blue" coin purses.

Yeah... I've been busy.

Not only did I need to make new bags, but I needed to change my table set up. Obviously, for the expo I won't have my regular bags and book covers, it'll just be bridal stuff. So, here's how my mock up looked:

The photo album will have pictures of Madame Clochette bags in action, and some of my other bags.

The LOVE sign has been painted a dark red.

I'm still undecided about the flowers

I love how these ladies look against the black and white.

Then of course there are packaging, and dust covers, and order forms to be made...

Ok, they didn't have to, but how cool do they look!?

All of this has been done in between looking after Mr Frog and Tadpole. 10 minutes here, half an hour there. It has been incredibly frustrating, and all consuming.

The big day is nearly here.

Cross your fingers people.

And your toes.

And pray.

And hope,
 that my instincts are right.

MC